Like a good neighbor, Keith Brooking is there. And so is Jim Leonhard.

They are proven, veteran players signed by the Broncos in the past week to be the good hands people, as it were, to be quality insurance to cover for some of the early bumps in the road.

“I know from my perspective I have a lot of experience,” Brooking said. “I have tons of plays in this league. I’ve seen it all.”

And while Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway has said he is committed to youth, the draft and his bottom-line goal of making the team “younger and more athletic,” the Broncos found it necessary to dip into the market for players headed into their 15th and ninth seasons respectively.

Brooking, who can play middle linebacker or weakside linebacker (away from the tight end) in the Broncos’ scheme, is an obvious reaction to linebacker D.J. Williams’ fate. Williams is already facing a six-game suspension to open the regular season for violating NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs, but also has a DUI trial on his docket this week.

A verdict that doesn’t go his way in that scheduled Wednesday court appearance could lead to the NFL adding more time on his suspension as part of the league’s personal conduct policy or even something as drastic as a Broncos’ decision to release their 2004 first-round selection.

Enter Brooking, a player who has been around long enough to have faced Elway in Super Bowl XXXIII, who has already worked at Williams’ weakside spot in his initial practices with the Broncos.

“I’ve played in a lot of different schemes, positions,” Brooking said. “I have to get where its second nature, where I can play fast because I find myself thinking a little bit out there at times. You’re not reacting instinctively like you need to as a linebacker.”

For his part Leonhard is still working his way back from surgery to repair a tendon in his right knee — he suffered the injury in a December practice while with the Jets — but expects to be ready to play by the start of the regular season. He has attended practices, usually standing with coaches along the sideline.

“It may even be sooner than (the opener), at least that’s my expectation,” Leonhard said. “I’m ready to get in there and compete.”

The Broncos signed Leonhard after safety Quinton Carter suffered a knee injury in practice that required surgery. Leonhard has finished each of the last two seasons on injured reserve, but personnel executives around the league have said the play in the Jets’ secondary suffered overall when Leonhard was out of the lineup.

“I feel like I can contribute in a lot of ways,” Leonhard said. “They haven’t really seen me here yet, but I’m going to put my head in the (playbook) and be ready to go. I’m ready to get to work and contribute to what these guys want to accomplish.

“You can tell, they have Peyton Manning and they feel like this team could do some things.”